Blessings and Curses - People were cursed or blessed by others in the hopes that the gods would intervene and cause good or harm to this person. They were usually engraved in permanent materials.

Cauldrons - The Irish deity Dagda and the Welsh Ceridwen are both said to possess cauldrons. These cauldrons grant wisdom to any who drink from them. Several ancient cauldrons and buckets were discovered in Celtic areas. Based on their decorations, historians assume that they were used for ritualistic purposes. Cauldrons are used by modern druids to make and distribute offerings.

Champion's Portion - At ancient Celtic feasts where the meat of a boar was eaten, the choicest piece or freshest slice, also called the champion's portion, was always given to the bravest warrior present. Sometimes this was decided over by a fight on the spot. Depending on the event, the champion's portion didn't always go to the bravest warrior. For example, at the end of a chariot race, the swiftest would get the portion.

Curative Rituals - Many curative rituals were connected to water, such as the casting of body part models into springs, and the immersion in sacred water. Apparently, some Celts also performed surgery, sometimes going as far as opening the skull. We also know of a curative incantation used by Miach, the son of Dian Cecht, to heal the severed hand of Nuada. It goes: "joint to joint of it, and sinew to sinew"

Curved Blade - The Roman historian Pliny recorded a ritual in which a druid wearing white robes cut mistletoe from an oak tree by passing his right hand (the dangerous arm) through his left sleeve (the safe arm) to trick the plant into believing it was safe, and using a gold sickle. The mistletoe was caught in wicker baskets and not allowed to touch the ground. However, this is probably wrong, as gold is too soft to be used as a cutting tool. Modern druids now use the scythe as a cutting implement for harvesting plants and herbs at particular times of the year. When used to cut, the intent is not to bring down the plant, but to release and free it's energy. This energy is either sent to the Gods or blessed upon those assembled. The curved blade also symbolizes the crescent moon. Pliny also describes other plant cutting rituals, which include jumping on one leg around the plant in the lefthand direction.

Divinatory Rituals - What little we know about this king of ritual involves druids using the flightpath of birds, among other things, to predict the future.

Druid Egg - In myth, this was the dried spittle of a serpent, formed into an object. It apparently possessed some magical healing properties. The Roman historian Pliny stated that a Gaulish Druid showed him one of these eggs, calling it an "anguinum." The egg is not used very often by modern druids, though one ritual, called "grounding", makes use of it. In this ritual, the negative, unhealthy energy is drawn from a sick patient into the egg. Inside the egg, it is supposed to incubate and be transformed into positive energy.

Human Sacrifice - It was recorded by Roman historians that druids sacrificed criminals who had been condemned to the death penalty. The victims were strapped into large containers made of wicker. These containers were then burned, along with the live victim. Another type of sacrifice is recorded in the recovery of the Lindow Man. He was recently recovered in a bog, his body perfectly preserved. He had suffered the "threefold death." He had been simultaneously drowned, strangled, and clubbed to death. The body was examined and no signs of struggle were found. This means that the Lindow Man may have been kileld willingly, as in Celtic belief, death is the beginning of the cycle, not birth. The dead were thought to be reincarnated. One reason for this theory of voluntary sacrifice is that the Celts thought that everything was held in a balance of forces. If one died, someone else would be spared. Some legends describe a man being sacrificed for the good of a sick noble, so that he would recover his health. We not know for sure if sacrifices were strictly part of executions, or also ceremonial. There is much evidence of animal sacrifice throughout the Celtic areas. We believe that the druids used sacrifice as a divinatory tool, enabling them to predict the future. An animal would most often be used, though humans may have been killed for very important predictions. Crom Cruach, an idol located in Ireland, may have been the object of many sacrifices in Ireland, including those of children, though we can not know for sure.

Perpetual Chant - Druids in rotation maintained a continuous chant, year-round, in harmony with the seasons and cycles. During festivals, the whole community would join in the chant.

Tarb Feis - A druid must sleep under the skin of a freshly killed bull, of which he has eaten the meat. It is preferable if the bull has yellow skin. The spirit of the bull will then send prophetic dreams to the sleeping druid. This ritual is also called Tarb Fess.

Temple Unroofing - In one island in the French Channel, druidesses performed this ritual. The roof of their temple was destroyed and a new roof built within the same day. If one druidess let a piece of the roof fall to the ground, she would be torn to bits by her fellow druidesses. It seems that on some occasions, druidesses purposely attempted to make others drop their piece of the roof.

Transmigrational Rituals - These rituals are performed at various stages of life and are mainly initiations and last rites. At the age of two or three, the Namegiving was performed on a child. The child was given a name and finally accepted into the tribe as a real human. We know of some other childhood rituals, but only from myths concerning boys. Girls must have also had similar rituals, though there is not mention of them. Male nobles participated in a ceremony where they were initiated to weapons. The ritual to inaugurate a new king was different between time periods and also between tribes. In Gaul, the king had to stand on his shield while being transported by his followers. In Dalriada, the king must put his foot into a 'footprint,' which is one of many rituals. In the kingdom of Tara, the newly crowned ruler was required to sleep with the sovereignty goddess. The goddess was represented by a white mare. After the king had slept with it, the mare was slaughter. The king then bathed in a vat of its blood and flesh. The flesh was then cooked to be eaten by the people. When a person died, rituals were carried out, such as depositing the body in the water or cremating it. The funeral usually included a large feast involving meat and drink. If the body was buried, material goods were placed alongside it. These were supposedly meant to be used in the next life. In some graves, however, the items were ritually destroyed. We don't know why this was done.